HS2 route through South Yorkshire confirmed

New homes in South Yorkshire will be demolished after the Government confirmed the route of HS2 through the region.

The Department for Transport confirmed 16 properties on the brand new Shimmer estate in Mexborough will be bulldozed to make way for the high-speed rail line.

Ministers decided the line should serve the existing Sheffield city centre station after proposals to run trains to Meadowhall shopping centre were shelved.

The decision means no new stations will be built in South Yorkshire - Labour's Rotherham MP Sarah Champion said she was “furious'' because the county “won't get a proper stop''.

HS2 trains will serve Sheffield by running along a spur on existing track into the city's main station and then out again to eventually rejoin the high-speed line.

Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband accused Mr Grayling of a “gross discourtesy'' as the route announcement was confirmed in a written paper - when he’d been expected to make a statement to Parliament.

The former Labour leader said it added “insult to injury” for his constituents.

“I used to love living here on the water,” said Amy, one of those living on the Shimmer Estate.

“There are people who genuinely thought they were retiring here. But the people I feel sorry for are the people that aren’t officially blighted – the people who live across the road who are going to have to live opposite this monstrosity should it be built. They’ve got no comeback whatsoever.

“They’ve really done so much damage to so many people. I don’t think it’ll ever get built, but they’ve done the damage. They’ve made people’s lives hell for the past year for no reason whatsoever, and I just think it’s absolutely appalling.”

Another resident, Nigel, said: “We were told with a letter through the door (last summer). You’d think it was a bit of a joke, you know, ‘you’re house is going to be demolished’. It must have seemed so for some of these – we’ve got about six families on this estate who moved in on the Friday, then on the following Wednesday got a letter saying their house was going to be demolished.”

Richard Wright, executive director at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “This has been a difficult and prolonged decision-making process, but we believe we have reached a solution that gives a good and balanced economic return for the whole region. Now is the time to put the decision making behind us and get on to make sure we maximise those benefits.

“To get the best return for the region we must ensure everybody has good connectivity to the new station(s), that HS2 is properly integrated into both the existing rail network and that being delivered b**y Transport for the North, originally called HS3. Transport for the North’s objectives are to connect every city centre in the North much better and the target includes a regular 30-minute journey times between Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield.

“People should be under no illusion that this will present enormous challenges, not least the new routes for HS2 and the journey through the Pennines, but the prize is enormous and something worth fighting for.”

Councillor Julie Dore, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “We have always believed that our region’s HS2 station must be located where the greatest economic impact, transport benefits and job creation will be delivered – and that is in Sheffield city centre.

“A city centre location is vital to ensuring Sheffield is well placed to maximise the benefits of HS2 – but this must extend to the north as well as to the south.

“we welcome the fact that HS2 have committed to funding a junction, we will be seeking further commitments from Government to ensure that the connection north of Sheffield is funded to enable high speed connections out of Midland and up to places like Leeds and Newcastle.”

Troubled construction giant Carillion is among the firms awarded contracts for building the first phase of the railway